Casket lid and method of making same

ABSTRACT

A method of making a lid for a casket comprises providing tooling configured to produce a one-piece, unitary casket lid having a crown, a pie, a rim and a header, providing settable material from which to mold the lid, molding the settable material with the tooling, permitting the settable material to set thereby producing a one-piece, unitary casket lid having a crown, a pie, a rim and a header, and adhesively applying a wood veneer sheet to at least a portion of the lid. The veneer sheet can be applied with either a membrane press or a profile wrapping machine.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.09/457,163, a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/153,626,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,931, the entire disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to caskets, and more particularly to amethod of making one-piece, unitary lids for caskets by a novel moldingprocess.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A casket includes a shell and, in the case of so-called “split top”caskets, a pair of lids or caps, a head end cap and a foot end cap.Caskets have most often been fabricated of either metal or wood foraesthetic reasons. More recently, some lower end caskets have beenfabricated out of materials such as plastic, hardboard, and cardboard.While such materials are much less expensive than sheet metal and finefurniture grade wood, there is a consequent decrease in the aestheticsof the casket. Thus, efforts continue to be made by those in theindustry to devise more economically produced, less expensive casketswhich do not exhibit a consequent decrease in aesthetics andornamentality.

Each cap in a so-called split top casket is comprised of a crown, a pie,a rim, a header and, in the case of convex shaped lids, a web. Moreparticularly, the crown is, as its name implies, the crown portion ofthe lid, which is often, though not necessarily, convex in shape. As itsname implies, the pie is a pie-shaped section which fits into apie-shaped cutout in one end of the crown. The crown and pie assembly istypically referred to in the industry as the “cover”. The cover thus hasopposed sides and opposed ends. Each of the opposed sides has adecorative piece of molding known as a side rim member secured thereto.Similarly, the pie has secured thereto a decorative piece of moldingknown as an end rim member. The pair of side rim members and the end rimmember together comprise the rim. At the end of the cover opposite fromthe pie, there is attached to the crown a web panel, and there isattached to the ends of the side rim members and to the lower edge ofthe web a header panel. In the case of flat top casket lids, there is noweb, but simply a header. The term “header”, as used herein, shall bedeemed to encompass both a) a header panel only, and b) a header panelin combination with a web panel. The combined assembly, i.e., crown,pie, rim and header, comprises the casket cap or casket lid.

In order to fabricate a cap, several different pieces must betime-consumingly assembled and secured together. For example, in thecase of sheet metal caskets, a number of sheet metal stampings must befixtured and then welded together to form the cap. In the case of woodcaskets, the crown is formed from a plurality of boards secured togetherlengthwise with glue and fasteners. The pie is likewise formed from aplurality of boards and is secured to the crown with glue and fasteners.Next, the side and end rim members, themselves formed from a pluralityof boards, are secured to the cover and the header is secured to thecover and the side rim members, again via glue and fasteners. As can beappreciated, utilizing a combination of glue and fasteners to securetogether the various components of a wood casket cap is tedious and timeconsuming.

It would be desirable to reduce the number of component parts necessaryto fabricate a cap thereby reducing assembly time and costs, etc. Oneattempt at accomplishing this, commercialized by Werzalit AG & Co.,Federal Republic of Germany, involved the use of a mixture of wood chipsand binder which was molded with tooling into a one-piece cover, i.e.crown and pie assembly. This molded one-piece cover thus eliminated theseparate crown and pie and the steps required to secure the twotogether. The tooling for forming such a one-piece cover comprised amale portion configured into the shape of the under side of the cover tobe formed, and a female portion configured into the shape of the upperside of the cover to be formed. However, once this single-piece coverwas formed, a manufacturer was still required to fabricate and installseparate side rim members, end rim member and header to the one-piececover in order to complete the cap assembly.

Another less than completely successful attempt at fabricating aone-piece casket cap utilized fiberglass and resin applied to a form inthe shape of a casket cap, the process otherwise being known as “layingup.” While such a one-piece, integral fiberglass casket cap did includea crown, a pie, side rim members, end rim members and a header, thefiberglass material itself as well as its use created difficulties. Forexample, the process of laying up of fiberglass is time and laborintensive and does not readily lend itself to automation. Further, theglass fibers are difficult to manage and the resin produces noxiousodors.

It would be desirable to eliminate even more of the separate componentparts of a casket cap in order to eliminate the costs associated withproducing the component parts as well as the costs associated withassembling together all of the component parts, while at the same timeavoiding the difficulties associated with fiberglass constructiontechniques.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a method of making a one-piece, unitary lid fora casket and a casket lid made by the method. The method and lid of thisinvention completely eliminate the separate component parts required tobe assembled together in prior casket lids. The method of the inventioncomprises providing tooling configured to produce a one-piece, unitarycasket lid having a crown, a pie, a rim and a header, providing settablematerial from which to mold the lid, molding the settable material withthe tooling and permitting the settable material to set therebyproducing the one-piece, unitary casket lid having a crown, a pie, rimand a header. A wood veneer sheet is adhesively applied to at least aportion of the lid.

The veneer sheet can be applied to the lid with either a membrane pressor a profile wrapping machine. Preferably, glue is applied to the veneersheet and the veneer sheet is adhered to the lid with the use of heatand pressure. The veneer sheet is preferably applied to the exteriorsurfaces of the crown, pie, rim and header.

In another aspect, a method for making a lid for a casket comprisesproviding tooling configured to produce a one-piece, unitary casket lidportion having a crown and a pie, providing settable material from whichto mold the lid portion, molding the settable material with the tooling,permitting the settable material to set thereby producing a one-piece,unitary casket lid portion having a crown and a pie and adhesivelyapplying wood veneer to the crown and the pie. A rim can be fabricatedof solid wood and attached to the crown and pie, or a rim can befabricated from a solid non-wood substrate profile wrapped with woodveneer, and attached to the crown and pie.

In another aspect, a method of making a lid for a casket comprisesproviding tooling configured to produce a one-piece, unitary casket lidportion having a crown and a pair of side rims, providing settablematerial from which to mold the lid portion, molding the settablematerial with the tooling, permitting the settable material to setthereby producing a one-piece, unitary casket lid portion having a crownand a pair of side rims and adhesively applying wood veneer to the crownand side rims. A pie and end rim can be fabricated of solid wood andattached to the crown and side rims.

In another aspect, a method of making a lid for a casket comprisesproviding tooling configured to produce a one-piece unitary casket lidhaving a crown, a pie, a pair of side rims, an end rim and a header,providing settable material from which to mold the lid, molding thesettable material with the tooling, permitting the settable material toset thereby producing a one-piece, unitary casket lid having a crown, apie, a pair of side rims, an end rim and a header, separating a pie andend rim from the crown and the side rims, adhesively applying a firstwood veneer sheet to the pie and end rim, adhesively applying a secondwood veneer sheet to the crown and side rims and attaching the veneeredpie and end rim to the veneered crown and side rims.

In another aspect, for a casket lid having a pie and a crown, a methodof forming a miter joint from first and second sheets of veneer appliedto the pie and crown, along the line of intersection of the pie andcrown, comprises applying a first strip of masking tape to the line ofintersection, trimming the first strip of masking tape along the line ofintersection and removing the trimmed portion from the pie side of theline of intersection, applying a first sheet of veneer to the pie, thesheet overlying the portion of the first strip of masking tape remainingon the crown side of the line of intersection, applying a second stripof masking tape to the first sheet of veneer over the line ofintersection, trimming the second strip of masking tape and the firstsheet of veneer along the of intersection and removing the trimmedportions from the crown side of the line of intersection by removing theportion of the first strip of masking tape remaining on the crown sideof the line of intersection, applying a second sheet of veneer on thecrown, the sheet overlying the portion of the second strip of maskingtape remaining on the pie side of the line of intersection and trimmingthe second sheet of veneer along the line of intersection and removingthe trimmed portion from the pie side of the line of intersection byremoving the portion of the second strip of masking tape remaining onthe pie side of the line of intersection.

In another aspect, a method of making a head end lid and a foot end lidfor a casket comprises providing tooling configured to produce aone-piece, unitary casket lid having a crown, a pie, a rim and a header,providing settable material from which to mold the lid, molding thesettable material with the tooling, permitting the settable material toset thereby producing a first one-piece, unitary casket lid having acrown, a pie, a rim and a header, repeating the above steps to produce asecond such casket lid, positioning the first and second lidsheader-end-to-header end, adhesively applying a single wood veneer sheetto the crowns of both the first and second lids and separating the firstlid from the second lid. The veneer sheet can applied to the lids with amembrane press.

The invention thus provides a method of producing a molded one-piece,unitary lid for a casket which includes a crown, a pie, a rim and aheader. Multiple components are not required to be fabricated orassembled. The invention also provides methods of applying decorativeveneer to the molded one-piece, unitary lid.

These and other advantages of the present invention will become morereadily apparent during the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the drawings herein, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tooling for carrying out the methodof the invention, with the tooling illustrated in the open positionprior to compressing the resin impregnated tissue paper onto thesettable material between male and female portions of the tooling;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 except that the male and femaleportions of the tooling are illustrated in the closed molding position;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a casket lid including crown, pie, rimand header formed with the tooling of FIGS. 1-3;

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate the pattern formed in the casket lid of FIG. 4 bythe tooling such that two such lids installed onto a casket shell havethe appearance of being constructed from full length boards;

FIG. 6 is the encircled are 6 of FIG. 4, enlarged, with the resinimpregnated tissue paper partially broken away;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view illustrating the resin impregnated tissuepaper with miter cutouts for application to the settable material as perFIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of a formed casket lid cooling on acooling rack;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a membrane press for pressing a woodveneer sheet onto a molded casket lid, with the press illustrated in theopen position;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 except that the press is illustratedin the closed pressing position;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a molded lid, a pie sheet of veneer anda crown sheet of veneer, prior to assembly;

FIGS. 12A-12F are top plan views of the lid, pie veneer and crown veneerduring the steps of forming the miter between the pie veneer and thecrown veneer;

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of a double length sheet of veneer to beapplied simultaneously to 2 split top caps;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a profile wrapping machine for profilewrapping veneer onto selected portions of a casket lid or shell; and

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a tool for use in “match trimming” thecrown veneer and pie veneer simultaneously and pressing the pie veneerinto place.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated tooling 10 which isadapted to make a one-piece, unitary lid for a casket. The tooling 10comprises a male portion 12 and female portions 14 and 16, the portion16 essentially being a side ram or press. The tooling 10 is configuredto produce a one-piece, unitary casket lid having a crown, a pie, a rimand a header. In particular, the male portion 12 of the tooling 10 isconfigured to produce the underneath surface of the lid, whereas thefemale portions of the tooling 14, 16 are configured to produce theexterior surface of the lid.

Referring to FIG. 4, a lid 20 produced by the method of the presentinvention is illustrated. The lid 20 includes a crown 22 and a pie 24 atone end of the crown 22. The crown 22 and pie 24 together comprise acover 26 having a pair of opposed sides 28 and a pair of opposed ends30. A header 32 is positioned at the end 30 opposite from the pie 24. Aside rim member 34 is positioned at each side 28 of the cover 22 and anend rim member 36 is positioned at the end 30 of the cover 22corresponding to the pie 24.

Referring back to FIG. 1, to form such a casket lid 20 with the tooling10, settable material 40 is first shaken onto the male portion 12 of thetooling 10 with a shaker (not shown) positioned between the male 12 andfemale 14 portions of the tooling 10. In general the amount of material40 applied to the tooling 12 is on the order of about 3.5 times thethickness of the finished casket lid at a particular location on thetooling 12. The settable material 40 is comprised of shredded and driedwood chips and a binder. Other fibrous material other than wood chipsmay be utilized however, such as cane fibers glass fibers, cottonized orasbestos fibers, etc. The binder is preferably a thermosetting bindingmaterial or thermosetting plastic such as melamine, urea formaldehyde orphenolformaldehydrate.

After the exterior surface of the male portion 12 of the tooling 10 iscovered with the settable material 40, and referring now to FIG. 2, thefemale portions of the tooling 14, 16 compress the material 40 onto thetooling 12 so as to mold the material 40 into the desired shape. As usedherein, the terms “mold” and “molding” shall embrace the method hereindescribed and illustrated, and equivalents thereof, but shall excludethe process of applying fiberglass and resin to a form known as “layingup”. The pressure applied by the tooling 10 on the material 40 is on theorder of about 450 tons. The tooling portions 12, 14 and 16 are heatedwith superheated water flowing therethrough (not shown) such that thetooling 10 is heated to about 165° C. The initial heating and pressingof the material 40 is maintained for about 3 minutes. Shims (not shown)are interposed between the tooling portions 12, 14 and 16 during thisinitial pressing and heating step and serve as spacers so that thetooling will not overly compress the thickness of the lid 20.

After the initial heating and pressing step the tooling 10 is opened andresin impregnated tissue paper 42 is applied onto the settable material40 (FIG. 1). The paper 42 is preferably 80 gram recycled paperimpregnated with 100% melamine. One commercial source for paper of thistype is Casco Impregnated Papers, Inc., of Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. Asshown in FIG. 7, the paper 42 may include miter cutouts 44 to aid thepaper 42 in forming to the material 40 in the area of the pie 24 of thelid 20 to avoid bunching and the like. The female portions 14, 16 of thetooling 10 are then moved back into engagement with the material 40(this time with the shims removed) to again compress and heat thesettable material 40 to further form the lid 20. This subsequent heatingand pressing step is performed for about 3 minutes.

At the completion of this second heating and pressing step the lid 20 isremoved from the tooling 10 and permitted to cool. A cooling stand 60such as that shown in FIG. 8 may be employed to cool the lid 20. Thestand 60 includes a frame 62 including a lid supporting platform 64.Hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders 66 move the platform to a lowerposition to permit placement of the lid 20 on the platform 64 and to anupper position within a transparent enclosure 68. A fan housing 70houses a fan (not shown) which pulls ambient air upwardly into theenclosure 68 and around lid 20. The air exhausts at 72. Contouredinternal supports 74 support the lid 20. Contoured external supports 76clamp the lid 20 against the internal supports 74 when the platform 64is in the upper position, to prevent the lid 20 from warping duringcooling.

The underneath side 50 of the female portion 14 of the tooling 10 (FIGS.1 and 3) preferably includes a pattern formed therein which, when thesettable material 40 is pressed thereby, transmits the pattern into thesettable material 40. The pattern preferably simulates wood grain.

Referring to FIGS. 5A-5C, the wood grain pattern 80 formed in theunderside 50 of the female portion 14 of the tooling 10 and applied tothe lid 20 is illustrated. Referring first to FIG. 5A, the wood grainpattern from a plurality of “full length,” i.e. the length of the headand foot end cap crowns combined, boards 82, 84 and 86 is illustrated,as are full length rim boards 88 and 90. Line 92 represents themid-point along the boards 82, 84, 86, 88 and 90. Line 94 represents thelongitudinal axis of symmetry of the lid(s) 20. It is desirable for thewood grain pattern of the lids 20 abutted header end-to-header end to becontinuous as this gives the visual impression that so-called fulllength boards have been used to construct the lids.

By rotating the wood grain pattern on the right hand side of the line 92and above the line 94 clockwise 180° about an axis 100 which isperpendicular to the plane defined by the lid 20, which is locatedmedially of the transverse extent of the lid 20 (i.e. is centeredwidthwise) and which is coincident with the header end edge 30 of thelid 20, the wood grain pattern illustrated in FIG. 5B is produced. Inessence, the portions 82 b, 84 b, 86 b, 88 b and 90 b of the boards 82,84, 86, 88 and 90 are rotated clockwise around and towards the portions82 a, 84 a, 86 a, 88 a and 90 a such that the portions 82 b, 84 b, 86 b,88 b and 90 b are positioned on the left hand side of the line 92 andbelow the line 94. Thus, board portions 82 a, 84 a, 86 a, 88 a and 90 aare positioned on one side of the longitudinal axis of symmetry 94,whereas board portions 82 b, 84 b, 86 b, 88 b and 90 b are positioned onthe other side of longitudinal axis of symmetry 94.

Making two lids 20 with the tooling 10 thus produces two lids having theidentical wood grain pattern 80 of FIG. 5B. Rotating the second such lidclockwise 180° (FIG. 5C) such that two such lids 20 are positionedheader end-to-header end, i.e. as when positioned together atop a casketshell, produces a simulated wood grain pattern of the covers 26 and siderims 34 that matches and is continuous end-to-end thereby creating thevisual impression that the crowns 22 and side rims 34 of the casket capsare fabricated of so-called “full length” boards, a feature which ismore visually and aesthetically appealing than constructing the head andfoot end caps of a casket out of non-full length boards.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the resin-impregnated tissue paper 42 is showncut away at 70. As can be seen from the Figure, the paper 40 concealsthe wood chips 72 in the wood chip and binder mixture 40. The paper 42may be stained as desired to complete the wood finish look of the lid20.

The invention thus provides a one-piece, unitary lid for a casket whichincludes a crown, a pie, a rim and header: separate fabrication andassembly of individual components are thus eliminated. The lid includesa decorative wood grain pattern applied thereto. The paper coveringforming an outer skin of the lid conceals the wood chips in the materialfrom which the lid is formed and may be attractively stained to furtherenhance the wood look. And, when two lids are placed end-to-end atop acasket shell the wood grain is continuous from the head end to the footend of the lids thus presenting the appearance of lids fabricated fromso-called full length boards.

The invention may also be practiced in conjunction with the applicationof wood veneer to the surface of the molded lid 20. The veneer can beapplied to either the entire lid 20 all at once (whether for a fulllength cap or for a split cap), or to portions of the lid 20 in a seriesof steps. In addition, a combination of wood veneer applied to selectedportions of the molded lid 20, in combination with either solid wood lidportions or wood veneered solid non-wood (fiberglass, plastic, etc.) lidportions, can be used to fabricate the lid 20. In addition, the woodveneer can be applied to other portions of a casket other than just thelid, for example the casket shell side walls, end walls, top mold, basemold, etc. In those cases, the underlying structure to which the veneeris applied can either be a molded product molded by the steps above, orother material such as medium density fiberboard, timber core (alsoknown as oriented strand board), particle board, fiberglass, or plastic,for example. While the step of applying the veneer will be describedbelow in the context of utilizing either a membrane press or a profilewrapping machine, it is to be appreciated that the veneer could beapplied to the underlying substrate by other techniques and still bewithin the spirit and scope of the invention.

In a presently preferred method of practicing the invention inconjunction with wood veneer, and referring now to FIGS. 9-12E, a lid 20comprising cover 26 (cover 26 being comprised of pie 24 and crown 22),header 32, side rim members 34 and end rim member 36 is first molded bythe technique above. Approximately ⅛ inch thick strips of wood veneer 34a, 36 a are then secured to the bottom edges of the side and end rimmembers 34, 36 respectively with glue and/or fasteners. Next anapproximately 0.025 inch thick sheet of wood veneer 32 a is applied tothe exterior surface of the header 32 with glue, and a 0.025 inch thickstrip of wood veneer 32 b is applied to the bottom edge of the header 32with glue.

The pie 24 and end rim 36 of the lid 20 are then veneered. A precut(e.g. with a laser cutting device) sheet of approximately 0.025 inchthick wood veneer 24 a has glue applied to it (e.g. with a stationaryglue wheel over which the sheet of wood veneer 24 a is run). The glue ispreferably a cross-linking PVA such as that marketed by FranklinAdhesives as Multibond MX90. The sheet of wood veneer 24 a is thenplaced on the pie 24 and end rim 36 of the lid 20. The lid 20 with woodveneer 24 a applied to the pie 24 and end rim 36 thereof is then placedin a “membrane press” 10 a, a press which utilizes a silicone rubbermembrane 11 to conform the veneer to the profile of the lid 20, and heatand pressure are applied to one side of the lid 20 by one side 12 a ofthe press 10 a, while a vacuum can be (though is not necessarily)applied to the other side of the lid 20 by the other side 14 a of thepress 10 a. The lid 20 is then removed from the press 10 a, and theexcess wood veneer is trimmed from the end rim edge and miters of thepie veneer 24 a. The process is then repeated with crown veneer 22 a forthe crown 22 and side rim members 34.

In order for the miter where the pie veneer 24 a and crown veneer 22 ameet to have the proper aesthetics, the following procedure is employed.Prior to applying the glue laden veneer 24 a to the pie 24 and end rim36, tape 100 is applied to the bare lid 20 along the miters where thepie 24 intersects the crown 22. The tape 100 is preferably a hightemperature masking tape such as that marketed by 3M as either 4737T or2364. The tape 100 is then trimmed precisely by an automated trimmingmachine 104 along its respective miter, and the tape portion 100 a onthe pie 24 side of the miter is pulled up and removed, leaving just thetape portion 100 b on the crown 22 side. The precut veneer 24 a to beapplied to the pie 24 and end rim 36 is sized so as to overhang themiters and end rim slightly. The glue laden pie veneer 24 a is thenapplied to the pie 24 and end rim 36, and the cover 26 is placed intothe membrane press 10 a for about 30 to 120 seconds at a presstemperature of about 340 degrees F. (which produces a glue temperatureof about 180 to 210 degrees F.) and a press pressure of about 60 psi,and is then removed. Next a second piece of tape 102 is applied to thepie veneer 24 a and to the bare crown 22 along the miters. The excesspie veneer 24 a′ is trimmed precisely by the trimming machine 104 alongthe miters. The excess veneer overhanging the bottom edge of the end rim36 is also trimmed away, and can be done so manually. The tape portion100 b on the crown 22 side of the miter lines is then pulled up andremoved, removing with it the excess pie veneer 24 a′ as well as tapeportion 102 b, leaving just tape portion 102 a on the pie 24 side of themiter lines and overlying the pie veneer 24 a.

The precut veneer 22 a to be applied to the crown 22 is also sized so asto overhang the miters and side rims 34 slightly. The glue laden crownveneer 22 a is then applied to the crown 22 and the cover 26 is againplaced in the membrane press 10 a at the pressure and temperature, andfor the duration, mentioned above. The cover 26 is then removed from themembrane press 10 a and the excess crown veneer 22 a′ is trimmedprecisely by the trimming machine 104 along the miters. The excessveneer overhanging the bottom edges of the side rims 34 and header 32 isalso trimmed away, and can be done so manually. The tape portion 102 bremaining on the pie 24 side of the miter lines and overlying the pieveneer 24 a is then pulled up and removed, removing with it the excesscrown veneer 22 a′.

In the production of split caps or lids, it is particularly advantageousto perform the pressing step with 2 lids 20 oriented header-to-headerand spaced slightly apart, in the press 10 a. In that case a sheet ofcrown veneer 22 a long enough to cover both crowns 22 of both lids 20 isused. During the laser cutting step of cutting out such a length ofcrown veneer 22 a, perforations 23 are formed in the crown veneer 22 aat its mid-length point; during the pressing step the membrane press 10a tears the veneer sheet along the perforations. See FIG. 13. Installinga pair of lids 20 produced in this manner on a casket shell creates avisually aesthetically appealing matching, continuous grain patternwhere the head end and foot end cap crowns meet.

Finally, a roller is applied to the abutting edges of the pie veneer 24a and crown veneer 22 a, i.e. along the miters, to assist in producing asmooth, even and aesthetically pleasing transition between the twoveneer sheets.

An alternative to the membrane press 10 a for conforming the veneer tothe casket lid or to selected portions thereof, or to other portions ofthe casket, is to use the technique of “profile wrapping.” See forexample U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,234,519 and 3,541,592, both of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth in theirentirety. As shown in FIG. 14, a profile wrapping machine 106 includes aplurality of rollers 108 positioned to conform or “wrap” a sheet ofveneer 110 around an underlying structure 112, which could be forexample an entire casket lid or portions thereof, or casket shell topmold or base mold, etc.

Various combinations and permutations of the above can also bepracticed. For example, only the cover portion 26 of the lid 20 could bemolded by the principles of the invention. Then solid wood side and endrim members 34, 36 could be attached to the cover 26 with glue and/orfasteners. The cover 26 could be veneered as described above eitherbefore or after attachment of the rim members 34, 36. Alternatively, therim members could be fabricated by profile wrapping veneer onto a solidnon-wood substrate. Further, the entire lid 20 could be molded asdescribed above, and then the pie 24 and end rim 36 could be cut out ofthe lid 20. The pie 24 and end rim 36 could be veneered in one step, andthe crown 22 and side rims 34 could be veneered in another step; onceboth are veneered the two could be assembled with glue and/or fasteners.Still further, just the crown 22 and side rims 34 could be molded asdescribed above, and a pie 24 and end rim 36 could be fabricated out ofsolid wood and attached to the crown 22 and side rims 34 with glueand/or fasteners.

Other variations are as follows. The lid 20 could be pressed with crownveneer 22 a applied to the crown 22 and side rims 34, and then theveneer 22 a could be trimmed as described above. Then a perfectly lasercut pie veneer 24 a could be pressed onto the pie 24 and end rim 36,thus requiring no trimming of the pie veneer 24 a. Or, the lid 20 couldbe pressed with pie veneer 24 a applied to the pie 24 and end rim 36,and then the veneer 24 a could be trimmed as described above. Then aperfectly laser cut crown veneer 22 a could pressed onto the crown 22and side rims 34, thus requiring no trimming of the crown veneer 22 a.Or, both the pie veneer 24 a and the crown veneer 22 a could beperfectly laser cut and then pressed onto the lid 20, thus requiring notrimming of either.

Further, and referring now to FIG. 15, a tool 114 could be fabricated to“match cut” or “match trim” both the pie veneer 24 a and crown veneer 22a at the same time. The tool 114 would be configured to hold the pieveneer 24 a (such as by a vacuum) in position to be applied to the lid20 with crown veneer 22 a already applied (but not trimmed). The tool114 would include a moving knife 116 which travels around the peripheryof the tool 104, trimming the pie veneer 24 a at the same time astrimming the crown veneer 22 a. The tool 114 would be configured toremove the trimmed excess of the pie veneer 24 a and crown veneer 22 a,and then press the pie veneer 24 a into place. Thus the tool 114 wouldbe configured to apply temperatures and pressures similar to themembrane press discussed above.

“Marquetry” is a decorative veneer sheet which is assembled from manyseparate individual pieces/colors/designs of veneer to produce anintricate pattern and when applied to a substrate resembles an “inlay.”Marcuetry is especially appropriate as the veneer to apply to the moldedlid 20 of this invention as the resulting casket lid gives theappearance of being finely tooled and decoratively inlaid. Othervariations on the veneer aspect of the invention can include running thesheet of veneer through an ink jet printer to apply an ink pattern tothe veneer, and then applying the veneer sheet to the casket lid. Or,the veneer sheet could be laser engraved with designs and/or text priorto applying it to the casket lid.

Those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations andmodifications which can be made to the present invention which willresult in an improved casket lid and method for making, yet all of whichwill fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention asdefined in the following claims. For example, the method of thisinvention readily lends itself to fabricating lids for so-calledfull-couch caskets, i.e. caskets which have a single full-length lidrather than a pair of so-called split caps. In that case, the lid doesnot have a header on one end. Rather, the lid includes a full-lengthcrown, a pie at each end of the crown, a pair of side rim members one ofwhich is at each side of the crown and a pair of end rim members one ofwhich is at each pie. Further, even though the material to be molded isdescribed and illustrated as being applied to the male tool prior tomolding the material, it is to be understood that the material couldjust as well be applied to the female tool instead, or be applied toboth the male and female tools, prior to molding the material. Inaddition, fibrous materials other than those mentioned above may beutilized in the practice of the present invention; for example, plasticchips may be used. Further, wood veneer can be utilized as a coveringfor the molded cap. Still further, a thermal transfer layer, i.e. asheet with ink printed thereon, could be used to place an ink pattern onthe molded cap. Still further, a flange, such as an extruded plasticflange, could be attached to the cap for securing a dish assembly in thecap interior. Or alternatively a flange could be molded directly intothe cap thus providing an integral means of securing the dish assemblywithin the cap. Thus, the invention shall embrace all such variations.Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of thefollowing claims and their equivalents.

1. A method of making a lid for a casket comprising: providing toolingconfigured to produce a one-piece, unitary casket lid having a crown, apie, a rim and a header; providing settable material from which to moldthe lid; molding the settable material with the tooling; permitting thesettable material to set thereby producing a one-piece, unitary casketlid having a crown, a pie, a rim and a header; and adhesively applying awood veneer sheet to at least a portion of the lid.
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